


You're different than the others

by Kml19



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prison, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, riko is already dead so he is only mentioned and maybe showed in flashbacks, the warns are basically the same from canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 08:53:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11482938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kml19/pseuds/Kml19
Summary: Neil works for the Moriyamas from inside the prisons as a guard, he doesn't think much about his own life,  he is just glad that he is alive. That is until he meets a new prisoner that may change how he sees things.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> heeeey there! I am here with the aftg prison AU no one asked for! The story is based on the middle fanart [here](http://requiemofkings.tumblr.com/post/160898610160/1st-part-based-on-x-and-u-can-find-close-up-vers) so I thank requiemofkings for giving me inspiration and permission to do this fic based on her work! Also I thank [jasnahkohlin](https://jasnahkohlin.tumblr.com/) for being my beta and helping put together a lot of things on this fic! (check out her works [here](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Dying_Is_Easy_Living_Is_Harder)!) Thank you Eliza!!!!

The alarm sounded loudly throughout the building. All the inmates went calmly to their cells while Neil and the other guards kept a close eye to any unusual movement as they had not forgotten what happened three months before. Some inmates started a riot at almost this exact time. All of the men entered their cells peacefully, after all, they also had not forgotten how the officers had eliminated the riot perpetrators three months before. The doors closed with a loud thud.

With a relaxed breath, Neil went to the stairs to go to the control room, where he was stationed for the night. He hoped for a still night but when he entered, he noticed that his duty was with Jake, and there was no reality in which a duty with Jake was a quiet duty. Neil always tried to be less friendly with the other guards, but they always seemed determined to make him their friend. Jake was on the middle ground, since Neil was transferred to South Carolina. He still wasn’t sure if the other was determined to make him his best friend or if he hated him. Maybe he would never really know.

Neil also tried to keep himself as low-key as possible. He used his verbal skills only to correct the inmates when they tried something, since he wasn’t the most physically imposing. Sure, he knew how to use knifes (one of the many things his father passed to him that he wanted to forget about) but they weren’t really an option in his line of work. But apparently his verbal skills were enough to make him one of the best guards in the State Prison of South Carolina.  Maybe that was why Jake hated him... _He should try to be better instead of irritating me to death with his talking..._

“Neil!” Jake called, pulling him from his thoughts. “Too good to eat with us?” He said with a pointed look to the Chinese food on the table. It was almost midnight, and Neil had managed to avoid conversation until this moment, in which he knew would he would be forced to interact with the other guards on night duty… or worse… forced to listen to their _gossip_.

“Did you hear that Franklin’s wife dumped him?” Ryan, another guard said conspiratorially. He was talking about Thomas Franklin, dweller of cell number 32, convicted thirteen years for assault. Neil really didn’t understood the reason for gossip, much less gossiping about the prisoners, so he tried his best to tune out the conversation until they started talking about the new transferees that would be coming.

The Moriyamas hadn’t given Neil any new orders yet, but he knew that soon he would have to do something. So, it was good for him to keep himself informed about the prisoners in case he had to “work” with any of them.

“There are three new inmates coming, I heard that one of them will be hard for us… they are transferring him… and a team of doctors with him.” Steven said.

“Doctors? Why?” Neil asked when it seemed that all the others already knew.

“He’s crazy.” Jake said simply. At Neil’s curious face he continued. “At eighteen he was prosecuted for beating and almost killing four guys at a nightclub. He almost killed four guys—that were double his size—alone! He was going to get 10 years because he already had been charged for assault—which landed him in juvie. The cop on his case was furious, because he wanted him in jail for life, since he knew that this guy’s a psycho. So the cop started digging around and after an interesting talk with the guy’s twin, he got a lead. He discovered that the guy had planned the car crash that killed his mother when he was seventeen.”

Neil felt his stomach turning, it was rare these days for him to remember his mother, and at first, the thought of someone killing their own mother made him feel nauseous. But then, his father was a monster, so maybe someone’s mother somewhere could be a monster too—if the guy wasn’t a monster himself.

“He got life and was doing it in the California prison, since it was where he killed his mother. But five days ago he murdered another prisoner. He’s being transferred here and he’s going to go through another trial. He’ll probably get the chair now.” Ryan completed. “I heard he’s high all the time just so he don’t kill everyone.”

Neil could sense that just like the other gossips, they were exaggerating, but he made a mental note to watch this guy because he looked like the type of person who the Moriyamas would have business with.

“What’s his name?” He asked mixing his food on his plate.

“Andrew Minyard.”

 

 

The thing about working as a prison officer, is that you get used to scary faces. Add Neil’s experience with gangs and yakuza, and you have a person that’s hard to intimidate. Still, when Andrew Minyard got down from the bus that had transferred him—cuffs on his hands that connected to the cuffs on his feet—Neil immediately went rigid. He was as scant five foot nothing—smaller even than Neil—but his aura alone could make someone double his size cower in fear, as shown by the fact that he was seated alone on the back of the bus for the whole trip, as far as possible from the other two prisoners. Neil didn’t know what was worse, his almost manic smile or his dead and calculating eyes.

“Such a big reception!” Minyard said, laughing. The other five guards shifted uncomfortably under Andrew’s gaze, which didn’t linger on Neil as long as it did on the others. “Big new home too!” He laughed again looking at the prison. They escorted the three prisoners to the building where they received their orange overalls and were released from their cuffs. When they changed clothes and Neil couldn’t help but notice the scars on Andrew’s wrists, and when the blond noticed Neil’s attention he simply lifted an eyebrow and gave a predatory smile.

On the backs of their clothes there was the number of their cell so when Andrew turned Neil was faced with the big 03 in white. The location of Andrew’s cell was strategic, it was one of the cells closest to the guards’ office, making him easier to keep an eye on. When the subject of Andrew’s cell had come up earlier that day, the guards didn’t pay too much attention, since they were sure that the man was going to spend very little time there. Mostly because his new trial didn’t have a date yet, but everyone was sure that after it, he would be sent to death row. Only now did Neil notice that the location of the cell meant that he would pass by Andrew’s cell everyday while entering and exiting the office.

“Everything alright?” A gentle voice by his side asks, startling Neil from his thoughts. He turned to look at Renee and simply nodded at her, and as always, she seemed close to asking something but she easily brushed it off. Unlike the other prison officers, she didn’t seemed fazed by Andrew’s attitude, which only made Neil more uneasy around her.

The prisoners were having lunch in the refectory, and Neil wasn’t on duty today, so he went with the other off-duty guards to their office to eat. He managed to eat in silence for a few minutes until their superior, Reynolds, entered with a woman. He was rarely present at the prison, only when he could show to someone else how good he was at his job.

“Attention,” he said, while all the guards set up. “This is Dr. Betsy Dobson, the new psychiatrist that will be working with the inmates.”

The woman shook hands with all the guards, a pleasant smile on her face, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can work well together, and know that if you need medical assistance you can talk to me too, since I will be working in this facility not only for the prisoners, but also for you.”

Neil tuned her out after this because he was sure he wouldn’t talk to her. Instead he focused on the things around him, because of this, he was the first one to notice the noises indicating unusual movement in the dining hall. It didn’t take long for the others to notice too, and all of them hurried to see what the commotion was. It was easy to spot. Surprisingly—or not—Andrew was the center of it. He was holding another prisoner by the neck and seemed happy to snap it at any moment; the guards were around him ready to shoot him with their tasers ,but were interrupted by Dr. Dobson.

“Wait!” She shouted, putting a hand on the arm of the closest officer to her. Her voice made Andrew turn to her with his smile not faltering. Only now Neil recognized the other prisoner as Rick Lacer, dweller of cell number 19, convicted sixty years for murder, Neil was used to seeing his face scowling at the officers and not bleeding and shaking.

“Bee! Hello there! You’re here already!” He said, not releasing his grip on the other man’s neck.

“Hello Andrew.” She greeted calmly, and Neil admired her spine. “You should follow through with what we talked last time.” The doctor says and Andrew laughs a little before turning his head slightly to the side.

“Always ready for the jugular!” He laughs manically before letting the other guy go. The guards quickly cuffed him before he could do anything else. In the middle of that, Andrew’s eyes meet Neil’s and his smile somehow manages to get wider, “Well, well, well, seems like my time here will not be boring at all!” He doesn’t break eye contact with Neil until he’s taken away to his cell.

Neil tries not to think too hard about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I hope you enjoyed it! Comment all of your thoughts and send me kudos if you liked it! You can find me on tumblr [here](https://booksgivemelifeiswear.tumblr.com/)!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey~~ here's the update already! I want to always thank my beta [Eliza](https://jasnahkohlin.tumblr.com/) who talks and helps me a lot!! <3

Neil tries.

Later that day when he is in a restaurant with other people (he doesn’t want to knowledge the fact that these people are his friends—or maybe more than that) his brain is full of manic laughter and blond hair.

“And then we just decided to stay in the same house for now.” Matt said putting his arm around Dan’s shoulders. Matthew Boyd used to dwell in cell number 4, sentenced to 7 years for trafficking. With Neil’s help he managed to get parole, and since then decided he would become Neil’s best friend. By his side was Danielle Wilds, his long term girlfriend and—thanks to Neil’s privileged information—soon to be fiancée. She works as a stripper by night, and as a coach to the kids Exy team at the community school by day.

“You know already if you want any help…” Allison chimed in, leaving the rest unsaid. Allison Reynolds was the daughter of the director of the prison Neil worked for. Currently she was obligated to leave her house because of her relationship with the man seated at her side, Seth Gordon. Gordon used to dwell in cell number 6, sentenced to 11 years for assault and possession of illegal substances. He was also on parole, not thanks to Neil. Renee is seated on the other side of Allison, and she slaps the girl lightly on her arm for her comment. Allison shrugs unapologetically, “what? I have a little money saved up, if they need any help I can spend it.”

“Thanks Allison, but we prefer to do things by ourselves,” Dan said, no bite in her words. She was doing her best to save money so she and Matt could finally move out of their shitty house, but things were difficult since both her jobs didn’t pay very well. Not to mention, it was hard for Matt to get a job since he was still on parole. That was also the only reason it was taking so long for to Matt finally propose.

No one commented on the fact that Neil hadn’t said anything since he was always like that. When he was a kid, his mother would always say ‘d _on’t attract attention to yourself’._ After her death and everything that happened that led him to working with the Moriyamas, his instinct to keep his head low and be discreet just got stronger. And, if he was being honest with himself—the only person he could be one hundred per cent honest with—he didn’t feel the need to talk to others, he didn’t feel the need to interact with them… he just didn’t feel the need to actively participate in his own life. It was already so hard to survive that he had the sensation that anything he did might ruin it.

Andrew Minyard didn’t seem like that. Andrew Minyard seemed to be the type of guy who just did whatever crossed his mind without worrying about how that could change his life. He was so strange.

The laugher and talk continued around him until he said his goodbyes and went home. He lived in an old building with very few neighbors. When he reached his door, he noticed that someone had broken into his house. He wouldn’t have lived so long if he wasn’t just a little paranoid. With a deep breath, he entered the house.

“Sit down Nathaneil.” Ichirou Moriyama said and indicated the chair in front of the sofa he was seated on.

“Master.” He bowed slightly before sitting, keeping his head low.

“How is your adaptation to South Carolina?” Ichirou steeples his fingers beneath his chin.

“It’s going well Master,” Neil’s voice is respectfully low, his eyes glued to the carpet by Ichirou’s shoes.

“It’s come to my knowledge that you’ve just received new transferees.” He said going directly to the point.

“Yes, Master.” Neil inclines his head politely, doing his very best to keep Ichirou from being offended.

“What are your thoughts on Andrew Minyard?”

This was a trick question. It had to be. Ichirou never asked a question without wanting a very specific answer. Neil needed to answer correctly or there would be grave consequences. “He is aggressive and impulsive” Neil eventually says, keeping his voice even.

“Yes, he is.” Ichirou agrees easily. “I want you to keep an eye on him. Watch for any…strange activity. We are working his trial and want to be sure everything is going to go smoothly.”

“Yes, Master.”

With a firm nod Ichirou stands up. Two security guards appear from other parts of Neil’s apartment and stand by his side.

“The apartment is clear, Master.” One of them says. Neil keeps his head low, knowing that security checking his house was routine.

“Great. See you again soon Nathaniel.” Ichirou’s smile was feral and this time Neil almost couldn’t keep his flinch hidden.

The door closed behind the three and Neil let himself breath again. After a few seconds calming himself, he started wondering what the Moriyama’s interest in Andrew could be.

He turned on his computer and searched Andrew’s name. The first few links were about his arrest, but it was the fourth article that grabbed his attention.

_Andrew Minyard, convicted for murder, kills Riko Moriyama in California State Prison_

Neil’s heart thumps loudly in his chest and has to read the headline three more times before he can comprehend what it means. Riko Moriyama was Ichirou’s younger brother, an outcast from the “family business” by virtue of the fact that he was the younger brother. He had been arrested for assault, and thanks to his family influence, he got only 7 years. They cared only enough to lessen his punishment, not help him walk free. The charges originated from five of his old Exy teammates, and he was transferred to California after the big backlash his arrest created.

Neil knew him from when they were kids. They had played Exy together a few times and he always thought Riko was a bit crazy and too demanding of him and his adoptive brother, Kevin. After he started working with the Moriyama’s, he discovered that they treated Riko with great disdain, and heard stories about how one day, they would have to “put down” the Moriyama’s youngest and most problematic member. But that was all inside information. For anyone outside the family, Riko was an eligible heir just like Ichirou.

Neil clicked the article and scanned it. It didn’t give the exact reasons because apparently that day Andrew simply had woken up angry. What happened was, all the inmates were having dinner when Riko walked to Andrew’s table and said something to him—no one but the two of them were able to hear—in response, Andrew got up, punched Riko, and hit his head repeatedly with the dinner tray. The guards were too slow to react, and when they finally succeeded in stopping Andrew, Riko was already a bloody mess on the floor. The article made sure one more thing was clear, Andrew had been laughing. Neil went to sleep with that in mind, two questions in his head: ‘ _What did Riko say to Andrew?’_ and ‘ _How gone a person has to be to laugh after that?’_

~~~

Andrew was obligated to stay in solitary confinement for one week because of his stunt in the dining hall. Neil wasn’t assigned to give him food or his medicine but Ryan was and he had very strong feelings about it.

“The guy is completely nuts! He is singing in there! You know how sinister is to walk in there and hear him singing creepy-ass songs? It’s like he can’t stay still for a second!”

Neil was assigned with Renee and Jake to release him and take him to Dr. Dobson’s office after that week was over. When they entered the corridor, they heard haunting singing that had almost no rhythm.

 _How do you get to Wonderland_  
_Over the hill or under land_  
_Or just behind a tree_  
  
_When clouds go rolling by_  
_They roll away and leave the sky_  
_Where is the land behind the eye_  
_People cannot see_

_Where is the path to Wonderland_  
_Over the hill or here or there_  
_I wonder where_

_Yeah, Ryan was right, this was creepy,_ Neil thought while they opened the door. Andrew was lying on the bed and shaking his leg. He stopped and turned to see who had opened the door.

“Am I being released?” He asks, smiling sharply at a joke only he understood.

“From solitary, yes.” Renee smiled while she and Jake went to him to cuff him. He didn’t resist. “We’re taking you to Dr. Dobson’s office before you go back to your cell.” she explains quietly.

“Finally someone interesting to talk to!” He said. When they took him out from the room he seemed to have noticed Neil for the first time. “Oh, who do we have here? Officer… hm… Josten.” He makes a show of reading Neil’s name tag. Neil frowns but keeps himself under control enough to remain silent. “Josten, Josten, Josten… Nah, that doesn’t suit you!” He said, pretending to think. “Wesninski does!” He hisses lowly. Neil freezes. He was very close to hyperventilating and his vision was getting foggy.

“Josten, Josten… Neil?” Neil heard Renee’s voice and managed to control his breathing. “Everything alright?” She asks. Neil’s vision was getting clear again and he realized that he had almost passed out and was leaning heavily against the wall. _They didn’t hear it_ , he thought over and over again, while standing up straight.

“Yes,” Neil clears his throat, “yeah, I’m fine.” Renee didn’t look convinced but Neil wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at Andrew and for the first time he saw something in his dead eyes. Something that terrified him almost as much as it thrilled him.

_Amusement._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! For anyone curious, the lyrics Andrew was singing was from an song from the movie Alice in Worderland of the same name (just the lyrics, the melody is almost inexistent here) Leave comments with your thoughts~~ You can also find me on tumblr [here](https://booksgivemelifeiswear.tumblr.com/) <3<3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I made you wait!! As always this chapter is dedicated to my wonderfull beta [Eliza](https://jasnahkohlin.tumblr.com/) <3

The next few days were very tense for Neil, every time Andrew smiled, it felt like he was laughing at the big joke that was Neil’s life. Neil felt his nerves rising and finally decided he wasn’t going to get intimidated by the other.

One day, when he was alone on the file room, he opened the drawer of case files and took out Andrew’s. There, he found the details of his arrest that he hadn’t heard before, like that the four guys he almost killed were actually hitting his cousin right before. _So that makes Andrew’s assault actually an act of defense that had gotten too extreme_. Also that he landed in juvie after hitting the man that owned a store next to his house at the time.

Apparently he was a foster kid for 16 years, until he was released from juvie to his biological mother where he was reunited with his identical twin that he had only met for the first time three months before. It also said that the proof the police officer got to charge Andrew for the murder of his mother was his twin’s testimony and that a paper was found on his desk with car parts and the local of the accident written on it. They claimed it was written before the accident happened.

Neil still couldn’t understand how Andrew could have known who he was, so when he got home, he searched about him again. Only this time tried to focus on things before his arrest. His possible answer came on the fifth page.

_Exy stars Riko Moriyama and Kevin Day attempt to recruit new goalie to the Ravens, he says ‘No’_

He clicked on it and learned that Andrew used to play Exy as a goalie. At least since he was in juvie and, apparently, he was so good that Riko and Kevin—captain and vice-captain of the best exy team—went to personally invite him to play on their team. Andrew simply said ‘no’. And that had been the end of it. That was the only connection Andrew had with the Moriyamas or anyone that had met Neil… before. It still didn’t make any sense.

With a sigh, Neil laid back on his bed and fell asleep. He dreamed of crazy smiles, blond hair and blood.

 

 

All of the prisoners were in the external area and some of them were playing poker using cigarettes as money. Poker and cigarettes were technically forbidden, but that wasn’t really a concern for the guards. They had a philosophy; let the prisoners have some little liberties, and they’re less likely to start a riot.

Neil let his eyes wander to where Andrew was a few times. He was sprawled on the bank, eyes closed and humming. Abruptly he got up and moves to the table where the poker game was taking place. All of the guards follow his movements with their eyes, paying attention to everything he does. He sits on the bench and all of the inmates at the table stop what they’re doing to stare at the blonde’s smiling face.

“I wanna play.” Neil is close enough to hear.

One of the guys leaves and they restart the game. It takes eleven rounds for him to take all of the cigarettes. Over the course of the game, he doesn’t lose a single one.

The others stand from the table, cursing, leaving him alone. He just laughs and starts pocketing his prize, leaving one out. He puts it in his mouth and takes out a lighter from his pocket to light it.

“What the fuck…” Jake murmurs from Neil’s side. “Minyard, you can’t have a lighter in here!” He said loud enough so the other could hear. Andrew simply turned to face him and kept smoking. “Son of a bitch” Jake sounded offended, but he still didn’t make a move to go stop Andrew. Neil took a deep breath and approached the table.

“You can’t have lighters in here.” Neil repeated.

“Oooh so the rabbit speaks!” Andrew said with a puff of smoke. Neil frowns at the nickname, making Andrew laugh.

“Give me the lighter.” Neil holds his hand out, palm up.

“What will you give me in exchange?” Andrew cocks his head to the side, and it reminds Neil of a raven.

“Not put you in solitary again for starters?” Neil answered with a lifted eyebrow.

“Oh ho ho, and he also has a little of spine!” Andrew announces to an imaginary audience. “Josten, Josten, Josten… you can’t threaten someone who has absolutely nothing to lose.”

Neil frowns at that but before he could say anything else, Andrew spoke again. “Oh! Time’s up! Looks like Alice followed the rabbit.” He waves at something, or someone, behind Neil, making him even more confused. But then, Renee appears at his side.

“I’m going to have to ask for the lighter, Andrew.” She’s smiling but there’s no softness on her eyes. Andrew looks at her for a few seconds before laughing and giving her the lighter.

“Why…?” Neil started to ask, indignant, before he could stop himself. Andrew was getting up and he laughed again at Neil’s expression.

“I like her more than I like you, red rabbit.” He said with a shrug as he walked away, still taking drags of his cigarette. Neil stared after him and only once he disappeared from view, did he noticed Renee eyes on him.

“What?” He demands crossly.

She looks at him for a few more seconds before shaking her head and going back to her position. Neil does the same.

 

The next day something even stranger happened. Andrew got a visitor. Neil and Logan were designated to take him and keep an eye on him in the visiting room. It was easy to find him in the dining hall, he was the only person sitting alone.

“Minyard, you’ve got a visitor.” Logan says. He smiles and gets up accepting the cuffs on his wrists with no complaint. “Not going to ask who it is?”

“Ah, but alas, I already know who it is” Andrew replies that that’s the most obvious thing on the planet. Both guards take him to the visitor’s room, where Logan took up a post by the door staying outside of the room while Neil followed Andrew in. When they entered, Neil was surprised to see the man sitting there. Nicholas Hemmick was Andrew’s cousin but they couldn’t be more different. Nicky had dark skin and brown eyes and hair. He was taller than Neil and his smile looked surprisingly natural.

“Andrew!” He greets happily.

Neil didn’t know someone could say Andrew’s name with such happiness.

“Nicky!” Andrew replies imitating his cousin’s tone.

“Sorry for not visiting sooner, it was hard to arrange everything so I could come to South Carolina.”  Nicky’s tone was surprisingly apologetic. But, instead of saying anything else, Andrew just stares at his cousin like he was amused by how hard he was trying. “I told Aaron I was coming here but you know him, right?”

Neil recognized Andrew’s twin’s name and was not surprised that Aaron wasn’t here. After all, it was because of his testimony that the cop had managed to charge Andrew with life. Andrew just started to laugh and then he stopped abruptly, getting as close to Nicky’s face as he could with a table between them while remaining seated.

“Give up, Nicky. I would say you failed but you never stood a chance raising us.”

To Nicky’s credit, he only recoiled a little.

“Looks like the worst case scenario became true… or well, only part of it since Aaron is sober. But look at me, I’m where everyone said I’d end up.” He laughed a little, shaking the cuffs around his wrists. “Don’t you have a boyfriend slash fiancé waiting for you in Germany?” He muses as if he had just now remembered it. “Run and cry in his arms. Shoo shoo.” He finished, signaling for Nicky go as if he was no more than a stray dog.

“I… I’ll try to bring some sweets when I come back next time.” He says as if Andrew had not spoken. Neil noticed that he was shaking slightly but he managed to not run from the room. Andrew laughs again when he leaves.

“Why are you pushing him away?” Neil asks before he can stop himself. Andrew had started to stand, turning his head to the side in question. _Fuck self-control,_ Neil decides, “you saved his life, and he’s the only one who visits you. Why you want him gone?”

The other’s smile got wider, “Aw, you wanna have a little heart to heart, Josten?” He said, sidling up to Neil, who glanced at the camera in the room’s corner. Andrew takes the hint and stops before he got too close. When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper, only for Neil to hear, “if you want to talk to the real me, you’ll have to get rid of this first.” He gestures to the smile on his face.

Neil knew he didn’t have much time but he asked anyway, “The medicine? What, so you can kill everyone here?”

“Believe me, _Neil_ ” He enunciates the name, showing that he knew it wasn't real. “It’s not this that is keeping me from killing everyone.” He smiles sharply at him before Logan’s presence in the door made him turn his attention to the new guard. “Time to go back! Don’t want to miss the desert, do we?”

 

“Dr. Dobson.” Neil calls when he sees the doctor closing her office door.

“Officer… hm… Josten, right?” She asks more than says.

Neil was getting ready to leave too, since he wasn’t on night duty today, “yes, do you want me to walk you to your car?” He asked with his best polite smile.

“Sure.” She answers calculatedly.

They walked in silence until they’d left the building and were in the parking lot.

“Why did you transfer here with Minyard?” He finally asks. Dobson looks at him strangely before answered.

“I can’t exactly tell you because of the doctor-patient confidentiality. Let’s just say… I prefer to continue his treatment, since he’s a bit of a delicate case.”

“Why continue his treatment if he is going to get the death sentence anyway?” Neil asked letting the illusion politeness go.

Dobson stops and turns to look at him, “I’m sorry, but what makes you curious about this?” She asks, looking at him with that signature psychiatrist look. It makes Neil’s skin crawl.

“They say his medicine makes him less violent, but he killed that guy—Riko—in the other prison and almost did the same to Ricky here. All while he was on those meds, so forgive me if I doubt your ability.” Neil couldn’t remember the last time he spoke so much at once; especially so much of the truth.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t discuss his treatment with you.” She says when they reach her car. “But I can tell you it wasn’t me who chose to put him on it. The prosecution on his trial ordered a psychiatric exam on him and the court psychiatrist recommend that he should be obligated to take this medicine. The judge agreed.” She explains while looking closely at Neil’s face, looking for something. She must not find it because she continues with, “I hope we can talk again in the future Mr. Josten.”

Neil can only nod weakly at her in response. He hadn’t quite shaken off the feeling that _he_ was the one being psychiatrically analyzed. She says goodbye and drives away. Neil stands for a few seconds in the middle of the parking lot, thinking about how he was going to get Andrew off his medicine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Please comment, it always makes me happy!!! Come yell at me or be my friend or both on [tumblr](https://booksgivemelifeiswear.tumblr.com/) <3 !!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with an update yaaaay~ One thing: for storytelling purposes Andrew's meds are not addictive here. Always thanks to my lovely beta [Eliza](https://jasnahkohlin.tumblr.com/) <3 <3

Creating a fake pill made of sugar that looked exactly like the one Andrew took was surprisingly easy and there were even internet videos teaching how to make them. But, even if that wasn’t true, there were lots of people willing to sell fake pills.

It was easy to change places with one of the guards that had the job of giving the prisoners their respective medicine in a plastic cup, check if they swallowed it and then so on down the line. The trick part was Andrew ending up in front of him, instead of one of the other two guards or the one nurse. But, apparently, when Andrew saw him giving the pills he understood and managed to put himself in line in perfect position to end up across from Neil.

They didn’t say anything to each other while Neil gave Andrew the cup, but they didn’t break eye contact once either. When the blonde put the medicine in his mouth he must have noticed the sugary taste, because he lifted an eyebrow. Neil resisted the urge to do the same. Andrew opened his mouth and showed his tongue to prove he had swallowed the pill and then pressed two fingers to his temples in a mock salute before leaving.

Suddenly, Neil felt the weight of the real pill in his pocket, and for the first time, he started to think of all the ways this could go wrong.

~~~

All of the inmates were outside and it took a few seconds for Neil to find Andrew in the middle of them. He hadn’t been able to see the other since two hours before, when he gave him the pill, so he had no idea what he was like without the drugs. He also didn’t notice any guards commenting on any changes on Andrew’s behavior, so he supposed that Andrew was faking his mania or he wasn’t much different without the meds.

When he saw Andrew’s heading to the side of the yard, Neil started to regret his decision. He knew exactly where Andrew was going.

The first thing the Moriyama’s had ordered Neil to do when he transferred to South Carolina, was to aid one of the inmates in escaping. He had analyzed the map of the prison, and had found one fatal flaw; on the side of the yard there was a space without a surveillance camera that led to the big trash can’s that were on the side of the building. After that, there was only a big fence between the inmates and freedom.

Security had simply put a lock on it, hoping that none of the prisoners would be able to find the weak spot, or if they did, they wouldn’t have any tools to open it. It was all too easy for Neil help that prisoner escape. But now, he was worried he got fooled by Andrew.

He managed to sneak out without any other guards noticing him leaving his post, and with barely concealed haste, he followed the path Andrew had taken. When he got there, he was surprised to find Andrew seated on top of one of the trash cans, a lit cigarette in his mouth. The lock on the fence was untouched.

With a sigh he turned to look at Andrew’s face, and for the first time Neil really looked at him. The face he’d seen too many times with a twisted smile was now completely… empty. It was disorientating.

Neil observed for a few more seconds, and when it seemed obvious Andrew wasn’t going to say anything—he wasn’t even looking at him—he spoke. “Why didn’t you run away?” 

Andrew slowly puffed out a breath of smoke before answering, his voice monotone as if it was a bother be there. “That’s the question you want to ask.” He says dryly, not really phrasing it as a question, more like a statement with a hint of suspicion at the end.

“No.” Neil doesn’t take his eyes off the blonde, but before he can continue Andrew speaks again.

“Here’s what we are going to do, you ask me something and then I ask you something. No lies, only truth.” He finished and finally looked at Neil. He was ready to say ‘no’ and leave, but for some reason, he hesitated. Looking at Andrew’s slightly narrowed eyes, he started calculating his risks. Andrew seemed to know some part of his past, and he was psychotic, basically death row prisoner. No one would believe him if he talked about a guard working for the yakuza.

Eventually, Neil nodded weakly. “Why you don’t want your cousin visiting you?” he asked.

Andrew took a long drag of cigarette before answering. “He doesn’t know when to give up. He thinks that if he visits me enough times, it will somehow alleviate any stupid guilt he feels.”

Neil furrows his brows trying to understand Andrew’s answer, but feels like he was still missing something.

“Why you don’t talk with the other guards?”

Neil is taken by surprise by the question, out of everything Andrew could ask, _that_ wasn’t one of the options he’d considered.

“How…?” He doesn’t finish but the other understands the meaning behind it.

“I don’t have much to do, and it’s easy to notice the guards’ pattern.”

Neil files this information away for later and decides on his answer. “Because… I don’t have any interest in being friends with them, we’re just work colleagues.” The ‘a _nd I will probably betray them with some Moriyama errand’_ goes unsaid, but Andrew looks at him like it wasn’t. After a few moments of silence, “why you didn’t run away?”

Andrew stubs out his cigarette saying a low ‘tsk’, “it’s not your turn, Speedy Gonzáles.”

Neil gets confused at the new nickname but settles on the matter at hand. “What do you mean? I asked about your cousin, you asked about my co-workers. Now it’s my turn!” He tries to keep the indigence from his voice

“No.” Andrew says simply, getting up from the trash can. “You asked about my cousin, then when I asked about your co-workers you asked how I knew. Only then did you answer my question, which makes us 2 to 1. It’s my turn.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense! That one doesn’t count!” Neil breaths in, trying to keep himself in check, but notices Andrew looking at him with his head cocked. “What?” He barks angrily.

“Not spineless at all…” Andrew muses lowly before lifting his hand with his palm up. Neil looks confused at it for a few seconds before understanding and putting his real medicine on his hand. He wants to ask how Andrew knew he was going to keep it, but he knows Andrew won’t answer. Andrew swallows it dry before going in the direction of the yard.

“Wait! You’re not going to ask your question?” Neil asks, confused, as he leaves.

“Not now,” Andrew says without turning to look at him. It was clearly a dismissal, but for some reason, it sounded more like a promise.

Neil knew his survival skills were a little rusty, due to the long amount of time it had been since he stopped running. But even he noticed that _this_ seemed like the most self-destructive thing he had done in years. He chalks it up to the “self-imposed” quiet life he’d been living and shakes his head, choosing not to evaluate it any farther.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Please leave a comment, they always make me smile~~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeey guess who is not dead??? Me! Sorry for the long wait guys, college got in my way.... As always thanks to my beta [Eliza](https://jasnahkohlin.tumblr.com/) for helping me out!

The next day Neil once again follows Andrew to trash cans, having switched out his pills again.

“So?” Neil asks when Andrew doesn’t say anything for the first few minutes. “What’re you going to ask me?”

The blonde turns to Neil and holds his eyes while taking a deep drag of his cigarette. “Why are you working for the Moriyama’s?”

The question feels like a punch to the gut even if he knew it was coming at some point and Neil takes some time before answering. “It’s the only way to survive.” He finally says without looking at Andrew’s eyes.

He hums a little in response, “so you sold yourself.”

“What?” Neil snaps, his head whipping around to face Andrew. Andrew just lifts an eyebrow at him and he sighs harshly. “That was not my question… why you do have to be so difficult…” Neil grumbles and Andrew opens his mouth to answer. “That was not my question either! Jesus…” Neil exasperatedly says something else under his breath that Andrew can’t quite catch, but it sounded like Neil just called him a smartass. Finally, “what did Riko say to you before you killed him?” His voice is loud enough for Andrew to hear as he stands there tense, waiting for an explosive response.

But Andrew just keeps smoking as if Neil hadn’t said anything. “Who’s protecting Kevin now?” Andrew says after a few moments of silence. Neil looks at him confused and it takes him a few seconds to realize that this was the answer to his question. That made a lot of new questions emerge on his mind.

“Who did you run from?” Andrew’s question makes Neil feel like all of the air had been pulled from his body. He’d stopped breathing. It had been a long time since he last remembered _him:_ the man responsible for almost all of his scars, the man who made the strong woman that was his mother give up and run. His vision was blurry and he disconnectedly noticed that he was losing his balance and starting to sway when he felt hand on the back of his neck.

“Breath, you idiot,” Andrew’s monotone voice coupled with his firm hand was enough to pull Neil out of his own head. A few moments passed and when Neil’s breathing got steadier, Andrew retreated back to his spot atop the trash can.

It took a few more moments before Neil found his voice again. “My—my father.” He knew he could and should stop there, but suddenly, he just wanted to say it out loud. Get it off his chest. Share this burden with someone, even someone as unwilling as Andrew.

“He was a gangster—they called him The Butcher of Baltimore—my mother, when I was 12, she took me and we just ran. He almost caught us a few times, but then, when I was 18 some of his men—they—some of his men—they found us. And—and they killed her…” Neil breathed in shakily and was relieved to find that he could still smell the smoke from Andrew’s cigarette. Smoke always made him remember his mother.

“I managed to run for a year on my own before he found me. It—it was bad. I—I killed him.” He finally said in a rush. That confession had been stuck in his throat since it happened five years before.  The only ones who knew about it were the Moriyamas. That was why he ended up working for them. He had managed to kill his father, but that had mean that the Moriyamas had lost one of their people. Nathaniel didn’t have another choice.

Seconds passed and Andrew didn’t make a sound, but he also didn’t make a move to leave. So, slowly, Neil lifted his head to look at him. To his surprise Andrew was just staring at him, his face unreadable.

“W-what?” he sounds only slightly defensive.

“Your turn.” Andrew answers simply and Neil released a breath he didn’t notice he was holding. But, before he could say anything, he heard steps coming towards them. Andrew must have heard too because he was fast by Neil’s side with a lifted hand. Neil understood right away and put the real pill in his hand which he promptly dry-swallowed. Andrew suddenly put his back to Neil, hands behind his back. Before Neil could answer Jake appeared around the corner of the building.

“What…?” He began before putting a hand on his taser. “Everything under control here Josten?” He asked and only then Neil did notice that from where Jake was standing, it looked like Neil was holding Andrew’s hands behind his back.

Neil hesitates a beat too long before answering, but before Jake could get suspicious, Andrew started laughing. Neil could notice that the laugher wasn’t as manic as the one he usually heard from medicated Andrew—probably because the medicine hadn’t kicked in yet—but he doubted Jake would pay that much attention.

“We were having a secret party and decided not to invite you!” He says, and even without seeing his face, Neil knows Andrew was standing there with that terrible smile on his face. While Jake was distracted with Andrew, Neil took a step further to really be able to hold Andrew’s hands behind his back.

“I saw him coming back here and decided to follow.” Neil finally says.

“He was trying to run away?” Jake asked, narrowing his eyes.

“No.” Neil answers, probably faster than was strictly necessary. “He was just…smoking.” He adds a tinge of wonder to his voice, acting like it was the most curious thing he’d heard all day.

“ _Okay…_ ” Jake says, drawing out the word. Neil starts to walk back to the yard, taking Andrew with him. When he comes into the view of the other guards and inmates, he notices some of them looking at him, so he let go of Andrew unable to say anything to him without raising suspicion. 

 

It was obvious they couldn’t meet again in that spot, but instead of panicking about almost getting caught, Neil felt… alive. He _really_ didn’t have any survival skills anymore.

Even not being able to meet, Neil gave Andrew one of the fake pills. He wasn’t capable of letting Andrew stay sober for the entire day, because he actually took the medicine five times a day. Missing one only made him sober for three hours a day, and without them being able to talk, Neil didn’t have a clue what Andrew was going to do with his three hours of sobriety.

Instead of free time in the yard, the prisoners had to complete tasks in the prison that day. Neil was in charge of guarding the ones that were cleaning the library, and, to his surprise, Andrew was there. With a look around to confirm the lack of people in the immediate vicinity, Neil approached him. He was in the back of the library where almost no one could see them, and he was, apparently, taking the books out of their current places and replacing them somewhere else on the same shelf.

“It’s my turn.” He says when he gets close enough. Andrew doesn’t answer him, seemly too focused on the back cover of one of the books. “Why did you kill your mother?” He asks, almost whispering even with the knowledge that there was no one near enough to see them, much less listen in on their conversation.

“Tilda Minyard was _not_ my mother.” Andrew says, still not looking at him but changing the book in his hand out for a different one.

“That’s why? Because she abandoned you and kept your brother?”  Neil asks impatiently when Andrew doesn’t continue.

“I made… someone a promise.” He says, and just when Neil thought he wasn’t going to continue he does. “I promised Aaron I wouldn’t let her lay a finger on him ever again.”

Neil pieced this together with everything else he knew about Andrew and with irritation he noticed something. “He betrayed you.” The corners of his mouth are turned down in distaste, and finally Andrew turns to him. “Aaron betrayed you.” He repeats. Andrew simply passes him to go to the other shelf, having finished the one he was working on before.

Neil looked at him before looking at the shelf Andrew had finished his “work”. Right away he noticed what Andrew had done; _he put all the books in alphabetical order based on the titles._ With a frown he went to look at the shelf on the opposite side of where he had gone, and saw Andrew had already organized that one too. There, he had put the books in alphabetical order based on their authors. He then went to the shelf Andrew was currently organizing and by looking at the books on his hand he noticed that this time he was organizing the shelf by the books genres.

“Why are you organizing each shelf differently? Doesn’t that make it more confusing to look for the books?” Neil asked, confused.

“If you wanted a good job you should’ve payed me for it.” Andrew says wryly, not looking at him.

That startles a low chuckle from Neil, which makes the blonde look at him. “You know the only reason we make you do chores here is so you don’t go mad, right?” Neil asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Too late.” Andrew answers in a falsely cheery voice and turns to look at the books again.

Neil accompanied—guarded, he guarded, he was on duty after all—Andrew and saw him organizing shelfs in the weirdest ways, including but not limited to: the colors on the cover, by the number of words in the title, and Neil’s personal favorite, by alphabetical order based on the first word in the _second_ chapter of the book.

“You know this is just pure pettiness right?” Neil observes, looking at Andrew flipping through the last book. There still wasn’t anyone around them but Neil talked lowly with the other the whole time regardless. In response, the other merely shrugged and started to walk away. “Wait!” Neil calls before he could leave. “You forgot that one.” He points at the book Andrew was still holding.

“I’m taking it to my cell. You know how libraries work, right Josten? You take the books you want read, and when you finish them, you bring them back.” He says and gives Neil a mock salute before leaving. Neil looked at his watch and saw that they had stayed almost two hours talking and Andrew would have to take his next dose soon. And he hadn’t got the real last one from Neil.

 

The next day during lunch a fight broke out. Neil wasn’t sure who started it, but suddenly Flynn Gorn and Larry Fry were punching each other and drawing blood before any of the guards could do anything. Neil, Renee, Ryan, and Logan tried to hold them back, but they were strong and full of adrenaline, so it was almost impossible for two guards to hold each prisoner.

Neil felt like he was seeing everything in slow motion. He could see another four guards coming in their direction to help. He could see Larry putting his elbow on Logan’s face before taking off towards Flynn again. The problem was, Neil was in the way. The problem was, Larry had a knife in his hand.

“Too slow.”

Neil hears Andrew before he sees him. Andrew was the only one moving normally in the slow motion of Neil’s vision—he’d received a rather vicious punch to the head, so he probably had a concussion—he grabbed Larry’s hand with strength enough to make him drop the knife and put his hand on Larry’s throat, making him immediately stop fighting.

Everything started moving normally again and Neil noticed Renee had managed to hold Flynn while Ryan got up from the floor with a bleeding nose and now Jake was pointing his taser at Andrew.

“Let him go Andrew,” Renee says while two other guards cuffed Flynn and a third one also pointed his taser at Andrew.

“Tsk, tsk. That’s the pig way of saying thanks?” Andrew says, laughing and Neil decides that he really hates that laugh.

“Please let him go Andrew.” Neil repeats. Andrew turns his head slightly to look at Neil, his smile unfaltering. He looked Neil up and down before letting Larry go. The other guards cuffed Larry while Jake goes to do the same with Andrew. “Wait, what are you doing?” Neil takes a step towards them, his hands out.

“Cuffing him, he had a knife.” Jake says snidely, making Neil frown.

“Are you blind in addition to being stupid?” Neil asks exasperated. Andrew laughs loudly. “Fry was with the knife. An—Minyard only helped.”

“It’s true.” Renee chimes in, now standing by Neil’s side. “Let him be.” She commands with a firm voice. Jake hesitates a little but let go of Andrew who turns to smile at them before leaving.

The others had already taken Larry and Flynn away and the remaining prisoners had gone back to eating normally, Neil still felt Jake’s eyes on him, but he was too busy staring at Andrew to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think on the comments, they make my day! Remembering you can always come yell at me on my tumblr [here](https://booksgivemelifeiswear.tumblr.com/)!! Thanks for reading <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To make up for the wait I made you go through: DOUBLE UPDATE!! (Big thanks to my beta [Eliza](https://jasnahkohlin.tumblr.com/) for her support and help!!)

A month passed with Neil switching out Andrew’s medicine once a day, enabling them to meet and talk, without interference. Neil never asked why Andrew had helped him the day of the fight because he had a sneaking suspicious that the other wouldn’t answer. 

Neil had learned several things and shared a lot of things; like the fact he was fluent in four languages—one of them was German which he discovered Andrew also knew. He passed through 22 cities while on the run. He had gotten the scars on his face from the last encounter with his father. He had helped dozens of prisoners escape in various prisons, and even helped some to start a riot for the Moriyama’s. He had helped some prisoners get parole and one of them became his friend—Andrew scoffed at that and Neil wasn’t sure if he should be offended. 

He kept all the information he could get from Andrew close to his chest, like the fact he had passed through twelve foster homes before ending up in juvie. He had an eidetic memory. He didn’t care about Exy, or anything in particular according to him. He had met Kevin because he had contact with Kevin’s father—David Wymack wanted to get Andrew on his college Exy team, but Andrew’s prison sentence stopped it—and he had made a promise to Kevin to protect him from Riko. Neil also learned that Andrew lived by the principle of fair exchange. His promise to protect Aaron was in exchange for Aaron staying by his side until they graduated. And his promise to Kevin was in exchange for the man giving him something to live for. From what Neil could understand, neither of the two kept their end of the deal.

It was his turn again and he had a question ready. “I get why you killed Riko, hit those four men, and killed you-Aaron’s mother. But why did you attack that shop owner when you were thirteen?” Neil asks, and watching Andrew cleaning the kitchen floor. To his surprise, Andrew reacted to the question, but he wouldn’t have noticed his suddenly stiff shoulders if he wasn’t watching so close. 

It took Andrew almost two minutes to answer. “He liked to steal from his employees, and he was the closest person at the time.” 

The first part Neil understood—even if that didn’t sound like a particularly strong reason—but the second made him frown.

“I want another round.” He says, because he felt like he was close to something and he hadn’t any more secrets big enough to bargain with. “Why did you want to go to juvie?” 

With that, Andrew stops cleaning to stand, looking at Neil while he takes a cigarette out and light it with a match. “Aaron had sent me a letter wanting to meet, I couldn’t let him meet my foster brother.”

“Why?” Neil asks, holding his breath.

“My foster brother didn’t know the meaning of the word consent.” He states calmly, like he was talking about something as benign as the weather. It took a few moments for the meaning of what Andrew had said to hit him, but when it did he became furious. 

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place. Neil knew Rick Lacer and his reputation. “The first day, when you hit Rick Lacer…” Neil says, not finishing his thought.

“He was getting too handsy.” Andrew shrugs. Neil was still trying to hold his temper in check when he speaks again. “Why did you want to talk to me Neil?”

Neil felt his mind go blank and just stares at Andrew. “I—I don’t know…” He frowns, but wants to continue because he had promised himself he wasn’t going to lie to Andrew. “I guess I was curious—curious about the monster everyone was talking about.”

“Did you get what you expected?” Andrew asks, keeping his monotone voice.

“Definitely not.” Neil says, a slight laugh in his voice. He doesn’t take his eyes off Andrew’s hazel ones, “they’re wrong about you.” 

Neither one broke the eye contact and Neil noticed Andrew still had one more question to ask but he felt he was already asking and Neil didn’t have an answer yet.

~~~

Neil was in the control room with Jake and Renee and he couldn’t take his mind off of his earlier conversation with Andrew. 

“Minyard is really weird right?” Jake says suddenly, looking at Neil. “Thank God he is going to get the death penalty soon. It’s so hard to have to keep an eye on him to guarantee that he isn’t going to kill anyone else.”

Neil’s blood boils, “you can’t shut up for even a second, can you?” Neil snarls, not being able to hold back. “You like to talk about other’s people lives because yours just isn’t interesting enough. Once he’s gone, you’ll just find another person to bad-mouth and do this until you retire and finally notice how shitty your life was—is, whatever. And another thing, that ‘monster’ is a human just like us, and saying you want him dead because he’s ‘too big of a hassle’ is dangerously close to sociopathic.” Venom had seeped into Neil’s voice, and offhandedly, he wonders when Andrew had come to mean something to him. 

“Chill Josten.” Jake scoffs after managing to pick his jaw up off the floor. “I’m just saying that when he get convicted in two months, he’ll get transferred and then he won’t be our problem anymore.”

“What?” Neil asks, glad he was sitting because he suddenly felt the floor tilting.

“His trial got scheduled.” Renee says, looking curiously at Neil. “Two months from now.” 

“He is going to appeal, right?” Neil looks at Renee, not knowing why he felt like she would know the answer.

“Who knows.” She says with a light shrug. “On his last trial he plead guilty and didn’t try to get parole.” 

“Something wrong, Josten?” Jake asks, narrowing his eyes at Neil, who only glared at his co-worker until he went back to watching the security feeds. Neil breathed deeply and decided he wouldn’t worry too much.

~~~

That plan didn’t work. The next day when he was with his friends, his mind was still on Andrew and his impending trial. He looked at Matt and started thinking about what would be necessary to Andrew get on parole. Maybe he could force them to have a retrial and he could lessen Andrew’s sentence. He just had to prove that his actions to defend his cousin were justified. Neil had spent the previous night looking up everything he could find on Andrew’s trial. Surprisingly, he found out that none of the workers of the night club had testified against or for Andrew.

“I have to go to Columbia.” Neil blurts unintentionally, and he noticed that his friends stopped talking to look at him.

“Why?” Matt asks cautiously after a few seconds of silence.

“I…have a few friends there.” Neil answers evasively, already getting up.

“Wait. You have to go _now_?” Dan’s voice is incredulous.

“Yeah… uh… bye,” He leaves the café they were in.

“Neil, wait!” Renee calls, reaching him before he could get to the car. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Neil replies automatically. 

She rolls her eyes, “you’ve been acting… hm… different these past few days. You know if you need to talk to anyone I’m here, right?” She’s using that soft voice again. The one that makes Neil wary. 

“O-Okay…” Neil answers, unconvinced. She smiles at him and he gets into the car, already calling Mr. Reynolds and asking for two day leave because of some “family issues”.

~~~

Neil arrived in Columbia that night and he went directly to the night club, following the directions he found online.

Eden’s Twilight was packed and Neil wasn’t sure if it was normally like that or if it was because it was Saturday. The line in the front was incredibly long and Neil had to wait amidst people wearing too much black and way too much leather. When he finally managed to get in he was bombarded with loud music and people grinding on each other on the dance floor. 

He went directly to the bar, hoping that the bartenders wore name tags because he was looking for one of them in particular that didn’t testify but tried to intervene during the fight, his name was Roland. But, of course, Neil wasn’t that lucky and in the low light of the place he wasn’t able to pay much attention to their faces so it was foolish to try to find the man based on the shoddy description he found.

He refused a drink that was offered to him and turned to look at the dance floor. To his surprise, he saw a familiar face, or more accurately, three familiar faces. Standing around a table, very drunk, with a woman Neil hadn’t seen before, was Nicholas Hemmick, Kevin Day, and an eerily familiar man who Neil could only assume was Aaron Minyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!!!! If you want to, come bother me at my [tumblr](https://booksgivemelifeiswear.tumblr.com/)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update it but here it is~~ As always, thanks to my amazing beta Eliza <3

Neil swore lowly before turning and hiding his face before any of three could see him. Aaron Minyard wasn’t a problem, but Nicholas Hemmick and Kevin Day were another story.  Neil stopped to consider his options, he could leave now, but lose the only lead he’s got to give Andrew’s a chance, or he could stay and keep futilely looking for Roland amongst the various bartenders, or he could do the only thing that could help him find the bartender and even maybe get him another lead. Neil took a deep breath and went in the direction of the three men and the woman standing with them.

Instead of going directly to their table, Neil stopped a few feet behind them to listen to their conversation.

“We should be dancing!” Nicholas said. “How long has it been since we were here last, huh? Come on Aaron.” He pushed at Aaron’s arm. Despite the fact he looked drunk, he definitely wasn’t the most drunk person at their table.

“Just go to make him stop talking.” stammered the drunkest person at the table. Kevin punctuated his sentence with the loud bang of his cup on the table.

“Let’s just go dance Nicky.” The blond girl pouts, putting her hand on Nicky’s arm to tug him away.

“Katelyn, always saving the day!” He cheers happily. “Seriously, you could get someone _so_ much better than my cousin.” Nicky stage-whispers. Silently, Neil hopes he was talking about Aaron.

“Let’s go.” The girl—Katelyn—pulls him away with her. The moment they leave, silence descends upon the table. Neil knew he wouldn’t be able to get any more information, so, after a deep breath, he makes his way to the table. Aaron notices him first, while Kevin doesn't seem able to lift his head for long enough to look him in the face.

“What?” Aaron asks when Neil doesn’t manage to speak first. His and Andrew physical similarities were disturbing, but Neil could see that Aaron seemed to put effort in appearing intimidating while Andrew didn’t need to.

“My name is… er… Neil Josten. I’m your brother’s friend.”

Aaron narrows his eyes and laughs in disbelief, “yeah, right…” His voice is practically dripping with sarcasm. Raising an eyebrow at Neil, he downs another shot.

“I’m looking for someone, and I thought you could help,” Neil explains, trying not to fidget.

“There’s no reason for me to help you.” Aaron scoffs. “You should find a more convincing lie next time. My brother doesn’t have friends.”

“Maybe part of that, is because you betrayed him.” Neil says simply.

Aaron stops moving, glass raised half-way to his mouth as he stared wide-eyed at Neil.

“I know you…” Kevin slurs suddenly. Neil turns to him to see that Kevin was staring at him with narrowed eyes, “Where have I seen you before…” He wonders quietly to himself, almost closing his eyes. Neil looks quickly at Aaron, noticing that he was starting to get suspicious.

“ _It’s been a long time, Kevin.”_ Neil says in French, surprising both people on the table. 

Kevin looks at him confused for a few moments but then his eyes widen. “ _You… Nathaniel…”_ He looks considerably more sober now.

“ _I have something of import to discuss with Aaron, so it would be better if you left.”_

 _“Wha—what—how—”_ Kevin starts several sentences, but he isn’t able to pick one and stick with it.

 _“Me being here has nothing to do with the Moriyamas. Just leave.”_ Neil barks and Kevin looks ready to discuss it farther, but ultimately, decides against it. He gets up and walks in the direction of the bar.

Once he disappears from view, Neil turns back to Aaron.

“Who are you?” Aaron demands, not taking his eyes off Neil.

“I already told you. I’m Neil Josten. Your brother’s friend. I’m looking for someone, and you can help me.” Neil’s voice is bored as he crosses his arms.

“I’m not going to help you with anything.” Aaron sneers.

“You _betrayed_ your brother. This is the least you could do for him.” Neil snarls, barely containing his anger.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Aaron answers, finally looking away.

“Andrew promised that he would protect you, and in exchange, he just wanted you by his side, but, when he fulfilled his end of the promise, you turned your back on him and the first chance you got, you sold him out.” Neil’s voice and face are incredulous. He couldn’t imagine someone with so little loyalty to their blood.

Aaron looks at him again and stands up in shock.

“How you know this stuff?” Aaron asks, trying to look scary but coming across as scared.

Neil rolls his eyes before answering. “I already told you, I. am. your. brother’s. friend. Jesus, can we get on with this already?” He takes a moment to compose himself. “You know what I find curious?” Neil tilts his head to the side slightly, venom dripping from his voice.

He doesn’t wait for Aaron to reply before answering his own question, “the only money you, Andrew, and Nicky had when your mother died, was from her life insurance. And your only hope for going to college, was with the sport scholarship _Andrew_ was going to get _for you,_ because of _his_ Exy skills. But then, he got arrested, and lost the scholarship. So, maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I just think it’s really weird that you miraculously get into medical school right after his conviction.”

Aaron seemed more and more ready to talk, but his pride seemed to get in the way. “I have no idea of what you are talking about,” he tries again.

“I lived my whole life lying, so I can easily say that you are just terrible at it.” Neil spits, vicious. “You sold your brother up the creek, put him in prison, just so _you_ could have college money. If he gets the death penalty in two months, it will be all. on. you!” He’s nearly shaking he’s so angry, and right now, he doesn’t really want to think about what that means.

“I DIDN’T SELL HIM OUT!” Aaron shouts.

It did nothing to disturb the people around them, aside from a few weird looks, but it got Neil’s attention. Aaron looked around him frustrated and runs a hand through his hair before looking back at Neil.

“I didn’t sell him out” He says again, emphasizing every word. “The cop that was investigating the case, he wanted something more to charge Andrew with, but I didn’t tell him about—about my mother. That was just a theory I had and everyone told me I was just trying to cope or some shit.”

He throws his hands up in the air angrily before continuing, “But then the cop came to me one day and asked again for something more, and when I said nothing, he threatened me! He said he was going to frame me for my mother’s—MY OWN MOTHER’S—murder, and he said he could even make it look like I helped Andrew beat the shit out of those guys.”

“I had just stopped using at the time and I had already gotten in trouble involving drugs, so it wouldn’t be hard. So, I decided to tell him about my theory, knowing he wouldn’t find anything because I had already looked. But then, that paper with Andrew’s notes appeared out of nowhere on his desk, and when I asked to see it they didn’t let me! After his trial, the cop came to me again, thanking me for _my cooperation,_ and when I started asking questions about the notes, he gave me money to keep my mouth shut.” Aaron’s voice was defeated.

He takes a deep breath, “I—I wasn’t going to take it, but no one believed me, everyone thought I was going crazy—thought I was crazy. So, I told Nicky I got a scholarship and started using the money.” He downs another shot.

The story didn’t lessen Neil’s anger, rather, it only amplified it. But now, it wasn’t just directed at Aaron.

“I’m looking for Roland.” Neil finally says.

“Why?” Aaron asks, sounding exhausted.

“I’m going to get Andrew on parole.”

Aaron looks at him abruptly, “what?” His brows were furrowed, his face confused. “You’re not serious, right?” He blinks at Neil, trying to gauge whether or not he was serious.

“Just tell me who he is.” Neil says, tired of talking with him.

Aaron looks at him for a few more seconds before lifting his chin in the direction of the bar. “He’s the one serving the ginger girl.” That doesn’t helping much as there are lots of ginger girls at the bar. “He has a tattoo of a bottle of whiskey on his forearm and grins like you’re his best friend, it won’t be hard to find him.”

Neil leaves the table without another word.

It really wasn’t hard to find Roland, now that Neil had a more specific description. When the man finally stopped in front of him, Neil idly notes that Aaron was right about the “grins like you are his best friend” part.

“Hey there, what can I get you?” Roland greets, smiling widely the entire time.

“I want to talk.” Neil says.

Roland lifts a single eyebrow and looks Neil up and down before slightly biting his lip. “Okay, sure, meet me at the back door in five.” He leaves with an wink.

Neil was surprised at how easy it had been. It was only moderately harder to find the back door, but he manages it and a not long after, Roland finds him there.

“So…” Roland says, getting closer to Neil, who, by instinct, takes a few steps back. “Your name is…?” Roland leans against the wall.

“Neil. I want to talk about Andrew.” He answers, trying not to flinch back from the other man.

Roland seems surprised by this and stands straight with a frown, “what about him?”

“I want to know why you and the others didn’t testify for him at his trial.”

Roland looks Neil up and down again, but this time he was looking with a different attitude.

“Have you met Andrew?” He asks.

“Yes… We are… hm… friends.” Neil answers, confused. When he was talking to Aaron it was easier to say because he was fueled by anger, but now the words didn’t seem so true on his tongue.

“Okay…” Roland drags the word. “So you know how he is then. I visited him, once before his trial, and he said we shouldn’t testify.”

“But—but your testimony could have lessened his sentence.” Neil says, even more confused.

“He said he didn’t care.” Roland shrugs.

“He’s going to go through another trial.” Neil’s voice is resigned and Roland nods in response.

“I want you to testify for him. If we convince the judge, we might get him another trial for the assault and he could even get a parole.” Neil tries to keep the pleading from his voice, but he’s not sure if it’s working.

“Really?” Roland looks at him, surprised.

“Yeah. The trial will be in two months. Will you be there?” Neil holds his breath.

Roland looks at Neil for a few seconds before answering. “Sure. I’ve known Andrew for a while now, and it doesn’t matter what people say, his place is not in jail.”

Neil breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” He says, and it was possibly the most honest thing he has said in his entire life.

Roland shakes his head slightly. “There’s no need to thank me, I just hope Andrew doesn’t kill me for this.” He smiles slightly. “Why are you doing this, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Neil opens his mouth to answer and finds that it was harder to say than he thought. “You said it yourself, his place is not in jail.”

It wasn’t the whole truth, but Neil wasn’t sure yet why he was doing what he was doing, and, he decided that when he found out, the first person who deserved to hear it, was Andrew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am loving your comments I can't say how much they make me happy!!! When I wrote this chapter me and Eliza were so mad at Aaron, so what about you tell me what do you think of Aaron's actions on this fic?? I will love to hear your opinions!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for making you wait so long!!! I already have the entire story planned so don't worry, i WILL FINISH IT! Always thank to my beta Eliza for her amazing work!

When Neil went back to work, he was surprised to see that Andrew didn’t have the usual manic smile on his face. They locked eyes during lunch time and Andrew looked Neil up and down, probably to check and see if there was any damage before turning back to his food.

“Why Andrew isn’t medicated?” Neil asks Renee, who was standing by his side.

“Dr. Dobson requested that he stay sober until his trial, since the prosecutor and his lawyer will start to visit.” Renee answers while observing Neil closely. “You know…he asked where you were.”

“What?” Neil says, turning to her quickly before regaining his posture. “He did?” He asks, careful to keep his voice low.

“Yes. I told him you left because of family problems.” She watches Neil out of the corner of her eye.

Now Neil understood why Andrew had looked him over for apparent injuries, he must have thought that the Moriyama’s had taken him. _I have to talk to him._

“I know I already said this, but you know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Renee’s using her soothing voice again, and her words pull Neil out of his thoughts.

“Yeah…” Neil says, not sure why she was saying it again, especially in that tone. She looks at him for a few more seconds before nodding and turning back to observe the prisoners. Neil tried to keep his eyes from focusing only on Andrew, he didn’t succeed.

 

He wasn’t able to talk to Andrew that day and went home with disappointment weighing heavy on his chest. Matt invited him to go out and reluctantly he accepted. Mostly because he need to get Andrew out of his head for the night.

“So… how were things in Columbia?” Matt asks, finally revealing the reason of the meet up.

“It was fine.” Neil answers without looking at his friend.

“Okay… Why’d you have to go see your friends so suddenly?” Matt’s eyes are narrowed.

“It was just a personal matter that got solved, let it drop.” Neil tries to get out of the conversation, still not looking up from the hamburger on his plate.

“Okay… but who were these friends?” Matt pries farther and Neil sighs, exasperated .

He finally looks up from his plate, “what is it Matt?”

“It’s just… you never said anything about friends in Columbia, so, I got curious.” he shrugs and this time it was him who turns his attention back to his food.

“It’s been a long time since I talked to them and—” Neil starts but the wounded-puppy look Matt was giving him made Neil not want to lie. “Actually… I’m helping another prisoner get parole.” He says, simplifying the matter.

“Oh.” Matt starts to smile, “that’s awesome. So, is everything going alright?”

“Yeah… it’s just—I haven’t told him yet that I’m doing this.” Neil says awkwardly.

“Well this guy wouldn’t get mad over this, right?” Matt frowns.

Neil laughed a little remembering how difficult Andrew could be. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” He looks at Matt again and was surprised to see a curious look on his face. “What?”

“You’ve been talking with this guy for some time now?” Matt asks. Neil frowns at the question but nods anyway. Matt hummed in response before taking a bite of his hamburger.

“What?” Neil asks again, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice.

Matt holds up a finger, motioning that he’d talk when he finished chewing. “Just… you’ve been different these past few days.”

Neil was taken aback and his mind started race. Had he let slip anything with his friends that would give away the truth about his past?

“You look more… alive.” Matt says like it’s not a big deal.

Neil stopped breathing for a few seconds before smiling slightly. He finishes his food feeling lighter than before.

 

Neil found Andrew in the laundry room the next day. He signaled to the guard that he would take the post and the guard left, leaving them alone. Neil knew where the blind spot of the cameras was. He positioned himself to stay out of the view of camera, and Andrew, noticing what he was doing, discreetly did the same.

Because they were sharing the same blindspot, there couldn’t be much space between them and Neil found himself having difficulties looking directly at Andrew. They probably wouldn’t be able to stay like this for long before another guard started to get suspicious.

“Where were you?” Andrew asks abruptly.

Neil gulps before answering, “I was in Columbia.” From his peripheral vision, he sees Andrew frown slightly.

“Why.” His chin is raised slightly and Neil doesn’t know if it’s in defiance, or because of something else.

“I went to Eden’s Twilight.” Neil admits and Andrew stands straighter. “I wanted to talk to Roland.” This time Neil looked up at Andrew and the other didn’t need to ask. “I’m going to help you try to get a retrial for the assault and get on parole.” He chances a quick look at Andrew before jerking his eyes back to the floor again. Andrew didn’t react in any way so Neil started fidgeting. “It’s possible.” He says lamely.

“I…” Andrew took a half-step closer to Neil. “do not need your help.” He says calmly. So his chin was raised in defiance.

“But I wanted to help.” Neil shrugs.

“You are impossible.” Andrew scoffs before turning away from Neil to lean against the wall.

“You will try, right? To get the retrial.” There’s a note of cautious hope in Neil’s voice.

“Why would I?” Andrew doesn’t look at him.

Neil was suddenly furious. “ _Why? Why?_ What about because you shouldn’t be here! Much less waiting to be sentenced to death! Especially because you don’t deserve this! Because you didn’t deserve your brother’s and Kevin’s betrayal!” Neil’s ranting again and he’s flinging his arms around furiously.

“You’ve know me for a little more than a month, what do you know about what I deserve?” Andrew asks back, unaffected by Neil’s tirade.

“More than anyone who’s known you for longer apparently.” Neil scoffs. He takes a deep breath before talking again, “do it Andrew. You can’t be serious about throwing away a chance to be free. A chance to live”

“You do the same.” Andrew rebuts unexpectedly.

“What?” Neil looks at him, confused.

“You’re hiding in the Moriyama's shadow. I’m not the only one throwing away any chance to be free.” He jabs his finger into Neil’s chest.

Neil looks away trying to keep the blush of shame from his face.“That—that’s different.” He finally says.

“You really think I can get parole?” Andrew scoffs. “This isn’t about what I did, Neil. This is about what I know.” He fishes out a cigarette and lights it. Neil didn’t want to dwell on his words right now, because he knows he wouldn’t like the conclusion. After Andrew took two drags, Neil takes the cigarette from him and put it in his own mouth.

“How did you know me?” Neil asks after two minutes of silence and the solitary cigarette passing from hand to hand.

“Kevin showed me a picture of you, him, and Riko as kids. He told me who you were and that the last he had heard, you were working for the Moriyama’s.” Andrew answers simply. He doesn’t say anything more because it was still Neil’s turn but he wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask so he just started to talk.

“You know how weird it is to not have an identity? I lived until I was twelve as Nathaniel Wesninski. Then I changed names more times than I can count. Now, I’ve been Neil Josten for almost two years. I just… don’t exist.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Even if I am free, I would still be no one.” He smiled, but there was no humor in it.  “Sometimes I think I died with my mother.” Neil gulped still reluctant to look up. “She used to call me by my middle name, my father never did. It was untouched by him—untainted by him—and it died with her… She—she called me Abram.” His voice gets weaker the longer he speaks. Finally, he looked up. He expected pity or even distaste but Andrew looked at him firmly, really looked at Neil and didn’t turn away.

“Can I kiss you?” Neil blurts, barely above a whisper. Andrew looked down at Neil’s hands and in response, Neil put them on his pockets.

Andrew looked at Neil in his eyes, “yes.” He says before stepping forward and pressing their lips together.

That was the most amazing moment in Abram’s life.

 

 

The next month wasn’t just filled with their easy conversations, but also with other activities. Neil found out he could utilize the blind spots of the cameras in amazing ways. He knew he was in dangerous territory, that in the end, things wouldn’t end well. But, then again, Neil was never one for thinking about his future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think, comments make my day!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey there! It's almost finished! As always, thanks to my amazing beta Eliza!

Andrew’s hands explore every bit of Neil’s body he can reach and Neil dutifully keeps his hands in Andrew’s hair. He’ll never get tired of this. Of Andrew’s mouth on his. Of his hands slowly undoing the bottoms of Neil’s uniform.

At first he was reluctant to let Andrew see his scar filled torso, but as the days passed and Andrew let Neil touch him, even if it was something as small as touching his hair, Neil knew he was trusted and that he trusted Andrew in return.

Neil couldn’t convince himself to worry that they could get caught, not when Andrew was finished with his shirt and was undoing his pants. The space on the top of the prison was one of the only places without any cameras and every prisoner that went there had to be accompanied by at least one guard. It was the new place where they talked and made out.

If any of the guards noticed that Andrew had started going there with more frequency, no one commented. Andrew’s trial was getting closer and closer and Neil was full of things to worry about. He had asked Roland to see if he could get anyone else to testify and he was talking to a public defender that was his friend to convince them to take Andrew’s case. Since the one Andrew had representing him before didn’t seem to make a very good case against any of the things he had been charged with over his short life. All of his worries disappeared when Andrew got down onto his knees.

 

 

Neil was walking to his car in the parking lot, feeling better than ever, when his phone made a sound indicating a new message. The more he was getting involved with helping Andrew, the more he noticed that he needed a way to do it without having to worry about the Moriyamas knowing what he was doing. So, he managed to get in touch with one of his mother’s old contacts and got himself a new phone that he could use to do this. It was a simple black flip phone, but it was her to trace and, better yet, its existence was unknown to the Moriyamas.

Neil opened the phone and saw that it was a message from Roland.

                _I got three more guys to testify. We all used to work with Andrew when he worked at Eden’s._

Neil felt the hope that was growing with each day grow even more. He typed a quick thanks to Roland and got into his car.

When he was getting to his apartment his phone rung again and when he opened it, he felt a little of his quickly budding hope die.

It was a message from his friend, the public defender, David Wymack.

_We have a problem. Something is wrong._

Without stopping to think, Neil dials the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Neil says before the man could say anything.

_“I looked at his case and I think you are right about him having a chance at parole. But then I talked to his current defender. He refused to listen to me and when I asked to take the case, he dismissed me.”_

Neil listened while his elevator got on his floor.

_“So, I decided to talk to my superior about it. He not just ignored me, but also a day later, I got suspended for unclear reasons. They blocked me from having access to any cases. Something’s wrong Neil.”_

Before Neil could answer he noticed something wrong about the door to his apartment. Someone entered.

“I’ll talk to you later.” Neil says, barely above a whisper as he opens the door. It wasn’t a surprise to see Ichirou seated on his couch.

“Sit down, Nathaniel.” Ichirou inclines his hand to the chair across from himself.

Neil sits.

“How are things at your job?” He asks, eyes focused on the ginger in front him.

“Everything is normal, Master.” Neil answers, his eyes on the carpet determinedly.

“And how is Minyard?”

Neil has to force himself to relax his shoulders. “He had two problems involving his violent nature. But beyond that, he hasn’t acted in any suspicious way.” Neil replies, keeping his voice even.

“Hm… What are your thoughts on him now that you _know_ him better?”  Ichirou’s voice doesn’t give anything away.

“I still think he is impulsive and violent.” Neil reverts back to what he does best, lying. “Now that the medication is out of his system, he seems a little less impulsive, but still aggressive.”

“I see… Is he giving you trouble, Nathaniel?” Ichirou asks and Neil almost looks up in surprise.

“No, Master.”

“Why did you go to Columbia?”

Neil’s heart beat loudly on his chest but he tries to keep calm because he had known that this question was going to come up. “You ordered me to keep an eye on him, so I decided to go there and investigate further, to know if he was going to be a threat,” he explains easily.

“Your conclusion?” Ichirou asks.

“He doesn’t seem to be a threat, Master.” He hadn’t even finished speaking before Ichirou was off of his sofa and had a firm hand holding his jaw. His hold forcing Neil look up at him.

“Do not think it is your job to define who is or who is not a threat. I do not like assets who think by themselves, Nathaniel. This is your first transgression, so you will receive only a warning. Don’t do anything that is above my orders. Do you understand?” Ichirou says with a serious voice that left no room for argument.

“Yes, Master.” Neil replies impuslively.

Ichirou slowly lets go of his jaw and gives Neil’s face two soft slaps before letting go completely. The same two guards from the other day appear from the other rooms.

“The apartment is clear, Master.” One of them says.

Ichirou nods once before turning to Neil again. “I hope we don’t have to meet again under the same circumstances, Nathaniel. Do your job, and we won’t have to have this same conversation again.” He finishes and leaves with his guards.

“Shit.” Neil curses softly after they close the door. He had to be more careful. He’d managed to get away this time, but he couldn’t afford to get caught before he got Andrew out of the prison.

With a sigh he went to take a shower.

 

The next day Neil was put on every shift that had him and Andrew as far away as possible in such a contained environment. He knew it could just be a coincidence, but after months of ending up on the shift where he was closer to Andrew, he couldn't help but think that maybe something is going on, or that something’s about to.

During the night shift he can’t help but relax, nothing had happened during the day. He’s eating with Renee, Jake, Ryan and Logan while distractedly looking at the screens in front of him showing the almost empty halls of the prison. Only guards walking past from time to time.

He turns away from them to answer something Renee asked, but forgets what he wanted to say when a loud noise interrupts them. They all turn to the screens, but before they can see anything, an alarm rings loudly with red lights flashing on. The noises get louder and Neil has to focus on the screens to finally understand what’s happening.

The prisoners started a riot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Leave your comments and come yell me at my tumblr: booksgivemelifeiswear <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow....I didn't notice that I had ended the last chapter on a cliff hanger sorry! here's the new chapter!!! As always, this chapter was brought to you thanks to my wonderful beta Eliza!

Neil and the other guards got their guns ready and started toward the direction of the door when a movement on the camera made them all stop. Four prisoners stopped by the door, guns in their hands. They didn’t make a move to get in, just stopped there in case any of the guards decided to get out.

“How did they get guns in here?” Logan asks when no one says anything.

“That doesn’t matter now.” Renee says, sitting and grabbing a walkie-talkie. “Office to external, what’s your situation? Do you copy? Over.” She received only static as an answer. “Office to external, what’s your situation? Do you copy? Over,” she repeats, but she still doesn’t receive an answer. 

“I think the external guards are compromised.”

Neil was vaguely listening to her, but most of his attention was focused on the cameras. More armed prisoners—a few in conflict with guards—were in the corridors. The guards were outnumbered and the prisoners had a big advantage: they had firearms whereas the guards only had Tasers and batons. Their cell phones didn’t work in the prison and their walkies were all muted. This was definitely better planned than the last riot. Ryan and Logan were discussing a plan while Jake listened and nodded along thoughtfully, all while Renee was still trying to communicate to the guards that were on the outside.

The situation inside the guard’s room hadn’t changed when Neil noticed that the prisoners had finally beat the guards in the corridor. Neil counted six dead guards and no dead prisoners. All the cameras showed prisoners walking through the building, locking the surviving guards in the cells but, strangely, they had yet to make an attempt to break out.

“Roger…What is the-…on the offi-….over.” Came the interrupted answer on the walkie-talkie.

All of the guards focused on it while Renee answered.

“What is the situation on the external area, over.” Renee asks again.

“Roger…contained…three casualties…calling the swat team, over.” The guard answers.

“Roger. We had six casualties and the prisoners are keeping a look out on our door, over.”

“Roger…three minutes…no one escaped…-ver.” The answer comes through fragmented.

“Roger, we will stay here, over.” She puts the walkie-talkie on the table.

“Three minutes…” Ryan whispers under his breath.

“If they can’t run away and they aren’t getting in here, what the fuck are they planning to do?” Logan asks, voicing Neil’s thoughts. Neil didn’t take off his eyes from the cameras and finally the prisoners seemed to put their plan into action.

Some of them started turning off the cameras, seemingly at random, but one of them wasn’t able to do it as easily, and instead accidentally turned the camera to the side. What came into view made Neil’s blood freeze. The camera showed the area not too far from the guards’ office. Seven prisoners were in a circle, hitting and kicking a prisoner that was on the floor.

_Andrew._

It wasn’t very clear from the images how hurt he was, but the blood on the floor that was visible, made Neil turn to the door without thinking twice. He managed to touch the handle before the other guards rushed in his direction.

“What are you doing Neil?!” Jake hisses angrily, standing between him and the door. “You can’t go out there!”

“Get out of my face.” Neil says in his most intimidating voice, managing to surprise the other man.

“Neil, we can’t leave here now. We have to wait the SWAT team get here. We have to wait a few minutes.” Renee says calmly, coming to stand at his side.

“He doesn’t have a few minutes.” Neil grits his teeth, pointing at the screen that showed Andrew. He couldn’t muster enough courage to look at it again. Jake seemed surprised at that while Logan and Ryan looked at the screen, seeming to have noticed it for the first time, Renee just looks at him steadily.

“We can’t do anything by ourselves. There are more of them and they’re armed. We have to wait for the SWAT team.” Renee repeats, still not breaking eye contact.

“They are going to kill him.” Neil says. For some reason he was sure of it. “We have to do something.”

“Fuck man.” Jake says, looking at Neil like he was from another world. “So what if they kill him? There’s nothing we can do about it. The other inmates must be pissed as hell with Minyard for him acting like he owns the place since day one. Since when do we mess with their hierarchical fights? Let them settle it between themselves.” He finishes with a light shrug.

Neil felt his temper flaring, but before he could open his mouth to tear Jake apart there was a loud noise that ricocheted around the building. All of the guards looked at the screens and they saw an smoke bomb being thrown through the front door.

The SWAT team had arrived. Neil looked quickly at the other screens and noticed that the prisoners that were guarding the door had dispersed at the noise, probably to alert the prisoners that were still hitting Andrew. Neil turned to the door and saw that the others were distracted by the SWAT team’s entrance, so, with his natural speed, he ran for the door before anyone could stop him.

He heard faintly Renee calling his name, but he wasn’t sure if they would follow him. It took a while for the two remaining prisoners by the door to notice him, enough for him to taze one of them and use the baton to hit the other on the head. Armed only with the baton he manages to get to the cell that the prisoners had cornered Andrew in. It was Andrew’s cell, making Neil believe that the prisoners had gone there after being able to circumvent the security system.

The scene he found when he entered made everything freeze for a second. Andrew was seated on the floor, his back resting against the wall of his small cell. He had blood on his face—probably from a broken nose and the cut on his head—and his left eye was red in a way that suggested that it was going to turn purple soon, but apart from that, he didn’t look like he had received many injuries. At least, not enough to justify his calm face while looking at the firearm pointed at his temple. He looked almost… tired.

Only five prisoners remained in the cell, indicating that some had already fled, and Andrew’s unmoving face seemed to shock the prisoner that was holding the gun, because he wasn’t doing anything. Neil couldn’t see his face but the clown tattoo he could see on the man’s arm indicated that he was Phillip “The Braker” Johnes, convicted for 65 years for murder. Neil knew him, he was sadistic and he enjoyed seeing the fear in the face of others when intimidating them. He probably couldn’t understand how Andrew could just look at him like all of this was taking too long.

“Do it already! The pigs are already getting in!” One of the inmates says nervously. He probably was one of the prisoners that had left the door of the guard’s office to alarm them. Neil didn’t wait for an answer, he simply jumped on Johnes hitting the baton on his head managing to catch him by surprise, making him drop the gun. There were a few screams and Neil took the focus off Andrew, he fought with everything he could, knowing that he needed to only hold until the SWAT team entered.

“Wait!” Neil heard and turned to see Johnes push another prisoner that was about to shoot him. “We can’t kill him!” He screamed at his face and before Neil could dull on it he fell a strong hit on the back of his head. His vision was already getting darker and darker when he hit the floor and the last think he saw was Andrew hitting Johnes making the other man bleed already and the man dressed in black entering the cell.

 

 

With a start, Neil opens his eyes. His head hurt like a mother and he could feel pain on his ribs where he had taken a few blows before falling unconscious. His eyes were burning from the bright light in the room, and with a slight difficulty, he looked around the room he was in. It didn’t take long for him to notice he was on the prison infirmary, which meant that the riot had been eliminated and that his injuries weren’t serious enough for him to be sent to the hospital.

“Good to see that you’re awake.” Neil hears from his side. Slowly, he turns his head to the side to look at Abby Winfield, one of the doctors that worked at the prison.

“How long have I been out?” Neil asks, trying to get up and noticing right away that it was a terrible idea. Abby smiles slightly at him, like she could read his mind and checked quickly on an IV that was connected to his arm.

“19 hours.” She say calmly, like she hadn’t just told him he was unconscious for the last _19 hours._

“What?” Neil cries, trying to get up again.

“They knocked you out good, and apparently your body decided that this was the perfect timing to get in a couple hours with your sleep schedule. You haven’t been sleeping well have you?” She’s still smiling at him, and when he doesn’t answer she sighs. “I‘ve seen this kind of thing enough times, it wasn’t hard to guess. If you are still feeling dizzy it’s better to stay on the bed for a little longer. I‘ll get you something for the headache.” She turns to leave before stopping.

“Renee asked to let her know when you wake up so I’ll get her while I’m gone.” She grabs some pills and put them in Neil’s hands along with a glass of water. “You’ll be fine by yourself, right?” She asks, waiting for him to nod before she left.

Neil knows his sleep schedule has been shitty, his mind was always full lately, with Andrew and-…

Andrew.

Neil didn’t know what happened after the SWAT team had gotten into the building which meant that he also didn’t knew if Andrew was okay. He didn’t seem to be hurt too badly when Neil had gotten there, but he didn’t know if something more had happened after he blacked out.

Neil grunts as he sits up on the bed, and looking around in the room to see if there was any chance that the other man was there too. He knew that the possibility was slim, since Abby had left him alone, but he was still disappointed when he found himself completely alone in the infirmary.

But, this meant that he was okay right? Unless he was—,Neil didn’t want to think of that possibility.

With a sigh he lays back down again on the bed, and looking at the ceiling while thinking on all of the things that could’ve happened. He didn’t know how much time had passed when there was a slight knock on the door.

When Neil manages to sit, he sees Renee entering, but before he could say something, another person follows her in.

Andrew was standing there, alive and mostly okay, a butterfly Band-Aid on his red nose, his left eye was purple and a little swollen, but otherwise, he looked healthy. The only giveaway that something was wrong, was the pure anger in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave your comments and thoughts!! Can you believe it's already almost over??


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEEEEEY I AM ALIVE! Sorry for making you guys wait....but don't worry i am finishing the last chapter already sooo this will not be an unfinished work! As always special thanks to my beta Eliza!!

Neil opened his mouth to say something until he remembered Renee’s presence. She must have noticed the look Neil sent her way because next thing Neil knew, she was saying something and leaving. He couldn’t really pay attention to her because Andrew was glaring at him with a ferocity that Neil had never seen on his face before.

“You’re okay,” was the first thing out of Neil’s mouth after he heard the door close. Andrew narrows his eyes slightly before taking a step closer to Neil.

“What did you think you’re doing?” He demands through gritted teeth.

“What?” Neil asks, confused. Andrew just kept glaring at him, clearly thinking he was stupid for not knowing what they were talking about but his lack of verbalization indicated just how mad he was at Neil.

“You mean the riot?” Neil asks, uncertain. Andrew doesn’t answer, and now Neil’s was the one upset. “I don’t know why you think it was such a stupid idea.” He says instead of _I don’t know why you thought I wouldn’t help,_ because he had a feeling he knew the answer to that.

“Because you clearly can’t take care of your own ass so I can’t fathom why you think you have to take care of me.” He says tightly, seeming to be containing himself and for some reason Neil didn’t want him to. It just made him angrier.

“Well you clearly weren’t doing a thing to help yourself, so I had to do something.”

“No. No, no, no, no.” Andrew gets closer to Neil and slowly lifts his hand to put it on the back of Neil’s neck. “You didn’t _‘have_ ’ to do anything. It was a stupid decision you made under the wrong assumption that I _needed_ your help.”

“They were going to kill you!”

“And you think you could’ve stop it?” Andrew’s voice was disturbingly serene.

“I had to try!” Neil yells before taking a deep breath. “I have to try.” He corrected himself.

“You are an idiot.” Andrew scoffs. When Neil looks at him this time, he notices that the anger was gone. “You’ve fought your whole life to stay alive and you almost threw all that away. Because of what? Some groundless sense of duty towards me? Next time, turn around and keep walking.” He puts his hands in his pockets.

To Neal, it sounded awfully like his mother’s last words to him. _Don’t look back, don’t slow down and don’t trust anyone._ He had broken the second promise a long time ago when he’d made the deal with the Moriyama’s, the third one he’d broken when he told Andrew everything. He couldn’t understand why Andrew was asking him to keep the first one now.

“No.” He answers. “If it means losing you, then no.” His voice is firm.

“You were supposed to be a side effect of the medication.” Andrew scoffs and rolls his eyes slightly.

“I am not a hallucination.” Neil says and curses the concussion that impeds his ability to get closer to Andrew. Instead he just lifts his hand slowly and after Andrew’s slight nod, he weaves his fingers through Andrew’s hair.

“You are a pipe dream.” Andrew whispers, and it could have been because he didn’t want Neil to hear, but Neil knew that Andrew never said anything he didn’t mean for people to hear.

“I am not going anywhere.” Neil whispers back, tilting his head a little, making his intentions clear.

“You have to learn when to shut up.” The blonde says before closing the space between their mouths. It wasn’t a delicate kiss, it was almost as if Andrew was trying to make a point. To who, Neil wasn’t sure.

Neil felt Andrew’s hands softly caressing the scars on his face and in response he let out a soft sigh against Andrew’s mouth that was answered by Andrew’s hands going to his hair and holding with force. That, in turn, made a less innocent sound come out of his mouth and suddenly Andrew was gone. For a millisecond Neil unthinkingly chased him before he noticed that Andrew had pulled back and was looking at him.

“What?” Neil asks, barely above a whisper. Andrew just kept looking at him, and if Neil didn’t know that he had an eidetic memory, he would have thought that Andrew was trying to memorize his face. Neil didn’t remember who’s turn it was in their truth-for-truth game but he had to get something off his chest.

“I’m scared of losing you.” He admits before he can stop himself.

That broke the spell. Andrew drops his hands and took several steps back, as if Neil had burned him. Before Neil could say anything else, he opened the door and left.

Neil spent the next few hours looking at the ceiling and asking himself what he could do to amend his relationship with Andrew (whatever it was) but he came to the conclusion that he couldn’t do anything.

He meant what he said, if he could go back, he probably wouldn’t have said it, but the thought of Andrew thinking that maybe no one would miss him if he was sentenced to death or died in some prison fight, was enough to make him not regret his words. But that meant that he didn’t really regret anything, so amending his relationship was out of his control.

Neil hated when things were out of his control.

His thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Reynolds entered the infirmary without knocking. Neil struggled to sit up but he could feel that the dizziness had subsided slightly.

“Sir.” Neil says as a greeting.

“How are you feeling Officer Josten?”

“I’m getting better, sir. I am sure I can go back on duty tomorrow.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Mr Reynolds says firmly.

“What?”

“I talked with your co-workers and it came to my attention that you risked your life and the lives of the other officers by going against orders and leaving the safety of the office before the SWAT team had arrived.”

“Sir...” Neil started, trying to keep himself calm. “There was a life at risk. The SWAT team had already arrived, it was a one second decision. I could’ve stayed and waited for the SWAT team to get to the office and let Minyard die or leave the office and stop that from happening.”

“I don’t see why you think Minyard’s life matters more than the lives of your co-workers”

“I don’t see why you think that the lives of my co-workers matter more than Minyard’s. A life is a life. Besides, I didn’t risk their lives when I went.”

“You took with you the only shock gun.”

Neil stopped at that, he remembered clearly that everyone had one gun, but before he could say anything Mr. Reynolds continued. “I have no option but to suspend you for two weeks. Take that time to think about your actions and where your priorities lay.” He finished and left before Neil could say anything else.

_Damn it._

 

Neil was just leaving the prison when Renee stopped him, and he had to use all his self-control to not snap at her right away.

“Are you feeling better?” She asks.

“Why did you tell Mr. Reynolds that I took the only shock gun?” He asks much more calmly than could have been so he counted that as a victory.

“What? I didn’t say anything to Mr. Reynolds.” She says, confused.

“He said he talked to ‘all of my co-workers’” Neil’s voice is dripping with disdain.

“He didn’t talk to me. And I was with Logan the whole day so he didn’t talk to him either.”

Neil only sighs at that as he feels all of his anger leaving him.

“I’m tired. I’m going home.” He says and left, not leaving time for Renee to reply.

When Neil got home, he wanted more than anything to go to bed and stay there for the rest of the day.

He blamed his tiredness for the fact he was surprised when he found himself face-to-face with Ichirou, who was standing in his apartment.

“Master.” Neil greets, making the mistake of showing his surprise in his voice.

“Tell me Nathaniel, who do you work for?” Ichirou says without looking up.

“For the Moriyama’s, Master.” Neil answers without sitting.

“So why did you interrupt our plans?”

Neil felt his heart stop as he tries to understand the full meaning of Ichirou’s words. His silence makes Ichirou finally look at him.

“Answer me Nathaniel.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Master” Neil answers, but in the middle of the sentence, he finally connected the dots. _The riot._

“I will not accept lies, Nathaniel. Why did you interrupt our plans?” he spits.

“I’m sorry Master. It wasn’t clear to me that the riot was a Moriyama plan.” Neil says, immediately biting his tongue for his harsh tone.

“It wasn’t the riot that we were interested in. I think I made myself clear enough about what our goal was.”

This made Neil’s heart stop for a second.

_Andrew._

The silence was long enough that Ichirou turned to look at Neil’s face as Neil did his best to keep his feelings from showing on his face.

“I put you on the mission of keeping an eye on Andrew Minyard. You can’t be that much of a fool to think you are the only one working for me on the inside. I made sure that you spent all the time you could with him so that you could gather the most information possible.

“But the other person told me that it appears that you have developed some… hm… feelings for him. I had the belief, call it my emotional side, that you wouldn’t be so _stupid_. It appears now, that I was wrong. Tell me Nathaniel, are you that stupid?” Ichirou doesn’t take his eyes off Neil.

Neil almost couldn’t hear him from the sound of his world collapsing around him.

He could lie. He could deny it until the end, but Ichirou had made it clear he already knew the answer. He probably already had some proof of it. The thought that he and Andrew hadn’t been careful enough, that someone had seen them, had probably _taken pictures of them_ , made his skin crawl.

He decided to stay silent.

“I told you last time that I would let your infraction pass because it was your first one,” Ichirou continues taking Neil’s silence for the affirmation it was. “I know you used to be a Exy player but you must be familiar with this: you have two strikes Nathaniel, after the third one, you’re out.” He stands. “Stay here for the next weeks, enjoy your… free time from work. When you come back, everything will be solved.” The two bodyguards appeared from his room as usual and after announcing that everything was clear, they left with Ichirou.

After the door was closed, Neil stares at the floor a little longer before going to the window and seeing the black car parked in front of his building. Ichirou’s car had left but his bodyguard’s car hadn’t.  Neil threw himself on the couch and permitted himself a few minutes of pure panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave comments with your thoughts people!!! <3<3


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am at the airport rn but I really wanted to post it as fast as possible so here it is....As always thanks to my beta Elize for helping me in this story (You also should check out her aftg fic, it’s called What the Fuck is Stickball and Who the Fuck is Stefan and it’s freaking awesome)

Neil wasn’t thinking about his own safety anymore, he pulled his burner phone and called Renee.

“Hello” She answers, a clear mistrust in her voice.

“Renee, it’s Neil.” He says, and continues speaking before she could respond. “Tomorrow I’m going to visit Andrew, can you put me on the list as his cousin?”

“What? Why?” She asks, and that was the one thing Neil was hoping she wouldn’t. It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust her, for some reason, she was the only guard he was willing to trust at the moment, but he didn’t want her knowing too much. In Neil’s experience, knowledge wasn’t power, it was a target on your back, and he wasn’t willing to do that to Renee.

“Because I want to visit him and I don’t want to raise any red flags, and the only person who ever visited him was his cousin.” He answers, and hopes she got the hint to not ask too much.

“Nicholas wasn’t the only one who visited him.”

That gave Neil pause. “What? Who visited him?”

“Before Nicky, he had another visitor. I think his name was Kevin…” She trails off and Neil gets even more confused.  _Kevin had visited him? Kevin would know for sure what was going to happen…it’s impossible he didn’t warn Andrew…unless…_

“Can you put me as Nicholas Hemmick on the list or not?” Neil grinds out before he can dwell too much on it.

“Yes. I assume you’ll come first thing in the morning?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then.” She says and hangs up.

Neil was grateful for Renee’s ability to notice he didn’t want to get into detail about everything that was going on. Right now though, he just hoped his plan would work.

He didn’t want to sleep but eventually the exhaustion got the best of him. That night he dreamt of blonde hair stained with blood.

* * *

  
Neil waited until he was sure his upstairs neighbor had left for work before climbing the stairs to his apartment. Breaking into his neighbor’s apartment was easy, and so was the climb down the fire escape. Neil put on his best clothes, the ones Allison had forced onto him during one of their trips to the mall, because he knew that the Moriyama’s people were looking for him, in his plain clothes, red hair and blue eyes. So he was wearing his best clothes, a beanie that covered all of his hair and color contacts that made his eyes brown. He put his phone up by his ear, using it as a way to block his scars and started talking like he was on the phone in the way he had seen Allison doing: Loudly and full of laughter and complaining.

He took a cab to the nearest mall, not letting up on the illusion of talking on the phone for a second, just to be sure. When he got out of the cab and checked to make sure he wasn’t being followed, he took a different cab to the prison.

* * *

  
When he got there, Renee was there manning the sign in list of visitors and didn’t even bat an eye when he appeared and flashed one of his fake IDs. She wrote Nicholas Hemmick and he signed on the paper. His heart beat fast in his chest during the three minutes that he was waiting for Andrew.

When the door finally opened, Neil couldn’t contain the sigh of relief. Andrew looked a little confused but sat down anyway. Neil opens his mouth to speak, but stops himself when he saw who the guard with Andrew was. Jake.

Jake looks at Neil and smirks. Neil finally understood why Jake had acted weird around him. He also worked for the Moriyama’s, he’d been the one that spoke out the strongest about letting Andrew die and he was the only one that was doing nothing during the riot. He was probably the one that Reynolds talked to. Neil didn’t know how much time he had left before Jake alerted the Moriyama’s.

“He works for them” Neil says in German to Andrew, hoping he would understand. Andrew looks sideways discreetly and Neil knows he understands. He opens his mouth to tell Andrew his plan, but one look at his hurt nose and Neil needed to ask something else. He didn’t know if this was the last time he was going to see the Andrew. “Kevin came to talk to you”

Andrew lifts an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

“It’s impossible that he didn’t know that they would’ve retaliated.” He says and waits to see what Andrew’s reaction was, but the he kept his face neutral.

“Is there a question in there?” Andrew asks back in the same language.

“You know.” Neil whispers, confirming what he had been refusing to think since he got off the phone with Renee. “You know they want you dead. You always knew that I was working for them…”

“I was never good at self-preservation” Andrew says, not denying the implicit accusation. Neil can’t avoid thinking of how many times Andrew must have thought Neil was the one sent to kill him.

“Why?” Neil demands angrily, unable to contain himself. “Why can’t you understand that it matters if you die? That it matters if something happens to you?”

Andrew didn’t roll his eyes, but he was close. “Did you come here for this?” Andrew asks, keeping his voice monotone.

“No… You—you can’t stay here, they are going to kill you.” Neil says and was proud that his voice didn’t sound very much like he was begging.

“So?”

“I am being serious Andrew!” Neil feels incapable of keeping an even voice. Jake lifts his eyebrows at that, but it was because of Neil’s tone, since he couldn’t understand what language they were speaking. “You can’t—you can’t die…” Neil’s voice is almost a whisper now.

“You’re an idiot.”

“If the situation was reversed, you wouldn’t do the same?” Neil asks and received a glare in lieu of an answer. “Call the feds, tell them everything you know, get into the witness protection.” Neil says finally.

Andrew cocks his head and narrows his eyes.

Neil understands the question even if it wasn’t verbalized. “I’ll do the same. We could even see each other again.” Neil says with a faint smile. He had promised that he wouldn’t lie to Andrew but he couldn’t be the reason Andrew died. “Don’t worry.” He tries to convince Andrew that he was being sincere.

“Time’s up Minyard.” Jake says harshly slapping Andrew on the shoulder to make him leave faster. Andrew stands up and turns to leave but Neil didn’t want his last words to Andrew be lies, so before Andrew left he spoke again, this time in English.

“Thank you, for everything.”  
Andrew looks at him strangely, but was ushered out of the room before Neil could say anything else.

* * *

  
Neil goes home and lays calmly on the couch. He closes his eyes and thinks about how angry Andrew would be when he found out. At least he’s going to be alive to be angry.

Offhandedly, he wonders how long it took to Jake inform Ichirou that he went to talk to Andrew. These were probably his last minutes alive, and he just wanted to lay down and think about the life he would never get to have. About the life Andrew would get to have. It was the most at peace he had felt in years.

* * *

  
In the end, he ended up falling asleep and woke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He got up and glanced at the clock. He had fallen asleep for more than an hour ago. Jake had already had more than enough time to talk to the Moriyama’s. _Why Ichirou hadn’t appeared yet?_

More knocking interrupted his line of thought. Ichirou wouldn’t knock on his door and a hitman wouldn’t either. Slowly he walked to the door and opened it.

“Neil Josten?” One of the two men standing outside his door asked. They might have been wearing plain clothes, but their postures gave them away, they were cops.

“Yes…” Neil answers hesitantly, not knowing what was going on.

“Are you alone?” The second one asks. Neil nods but doesn’t invite them to come in. “We would like to take you to the station with us.”

Neil furrows his brows and starts to get defensive. “Why?”

“We’re from the FBI.” The first one says, showing his badge. “If you can accompany us calmly—”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Neil starts to close the door, but the second one puts his hand on it, making Neil stop.

“We have Andrew Minyard with us.” He says, and Neil felt his breath leave his lungs. “He said he would only talk to us if you were there.”

Neil stared stupidly at the men while trying to understand what was happening. The two cops must have taken his silence as an answer in the negative, because the man tried again. “I don’t want to scare you, but as we were coming up here, there were suspicious men entering your building. You are very likely in danger. Why don’t you come with us where you can be safe and talk to Mr Minyard.”

Neil couldn’t believe that these two men were offering him two things he didn’t think he would ever have: Safety and Andrew. He nods numbly and left with the FBI agents. On his way down, he saw Ichirou’s bodyguards watching him.

* * *

  
After a lot of questions that he refused to answer until he saw Andrew, they finally let Neil see him. They took him to an interrogation room and his breath fled his body when he saw Andrew.

He always thought he’d never see Andrew again. The FBI agents left him alone with Andrew, but he knew they were watching behind the two-way glass on the side of the room so he spoke in German.

“What happened to your face?” Was out of Neil’s mouth before he could think of anything else to say. His question referred to the bloody lip Andrew sported, that the feds probably tried to take care of, but Andrew probably wouldn’t have let them. Neil couldn’t make himself take another step closer, staying frozen near the door, still not believing what was going on.

“Jake got a lucky punch in.” Andrew answers not taking his eyes off Neil since he stepped into the room.

“You fought Jake?” Neil asks, lifting an eyebrow.

“Knocked him out.” Andrew answers simply. It takes a few seconds for Neil to understand but then he understood. The reason it took so long for the Moriyamas know that Neil had spoken to Andrew was because their informant was unconscious.

Andrew had fought Jake to get him more time. To get time to call the feds. To get time to say that he knew things about the Moriyamas, about their business. To get time to say he would talk only when they got Neil there. To get time for the FBI get to Neil to safety.

Neil was so lost in the overwhelming feeling inside him that he almost didn’t notice Andrew getting up and coming closer to him.

“You knew what would happen if Jake got to talk to them” the wonder in Neil’s voice was painfully apparent.

“No one likes a martyr” Andrew says, freezing Neil in place with his gaze.

“I had to make sure you survived.” His words seem miniscule in the already small room.

“No. That’s my job.” Andrew says, but Neil doesn’t understand, and Andrew didn’t give him time to. “You’re an idiot. You overused your tiny brain to find a way out for me, and didn’t notice that it’s a way out for you too.”

“What?” Neil asks and Andrew looked at him like he was stupid. _Oh_. Witness protection. It had never crossed Neil’s mind, because it always seemed like he was running away again but he wasn’t.

With shaky fingers, Neil lifted his hand near Andrew’s head who in turn inclined his head a little closer. Slowly Neil weaved his fingers through Andrew’s hair and let out the breath he had been holding ever since the feds had told him that Andrew was here.

“Can I have this?” Neil whispers. He didn’t know who he was asking.

“Only if you want.” Andrew answers in the same careful tone. Want. When was the last time he got something he wanted? When was the last time he let himself want something? _I want this._

“I’ll talk.” Neil decides finally.

“Then I will see you on the other side.” Andrew says. It was a promise. It doesn’t matter what they say, we will get out of here together.

“Yes.” Neil makes the same promise back. Now that he’d gotten Andrew back, he never wanted to let go. But he knew they would separate them to ask questions. The only thing in his mind while he was led off to another room was _I will see him again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who sticked w me in this story, hope the ending doesn’t disappoint! Let me know what you think of the fic and see you guys soon~~Love yall!


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